from annika’s journal

xxxx annika xxxxx: so do you want to do the interview now or later

dumbtp: now would be awesome
dumbtp: do you have the time?

xxxx annika xxxxx: k yah
xxxx annika xxxxx: im all nervous now

dumbtp: oh please, anything you want to delete, just let me know

xxxx annika xxxxx: i cant believe im talking to THE tony pierce
xxxx annika xxxxx: author of How To Blog

dumbtp: ahahaha
dumbtp: easiest book ever to write
dumbtp: its called cut and paste

xxxx annika xxxxx: haha. wanna write a childrens book and sell it on cafe press

dumbtp: have you tried making a book from them yet?

xxxx annika xxxxx: but i cant draw
xxxx annika xxxxx: not yet, it looks pretty easy, except for all the pdf stuff

dumbtp: transfering a word doc to pdf takes one tiny program. its a snap

xxxx annika xxxxx: i’ve been practicing my watercolor skills this weekend so i can do the book
xxxx annika xxxxx: my book will be a story about a family of rabbits
xxxx annika xxxxx: in space

dumbtp: how would they breathe?

xxxx annika xxxxx: havent figured that out yet
xxxx annika xxxxx: but they will have adventures
xxxx annika xxxxx: and maybe solve crimes and shit

dumbtp: put astronaut helmets on them from the 70s
dumbtp: i imagine theres lots of unsolved crimes in space

xxxx annika xxxxx: big fishbowl type helmets

dumbtp: exactly

xxxx annika xxxxx: of course there are

dumbtp: well i asked to interview you because i was very impressed with your last interview with whats his name

xxxx annika xxxxx: Matt Rustler
xxxx annika xxxxx: it was pretty fuckin long, but i’m glad you read it

dumbtp: you seemed like 109238741423324 times more intelligent than i took you for

xxxx annika xxxxx: hah, thanks i think

dumbtp: no no its a compliment

xxxx annika xxxxx: im a friggin genius
xxxx annika xxxxx: but i looove you 2

dumbtp: yay!
dumbtp: have you ever been with a black man?

xxxx annika xxxxx: um yah

dumbtp: nice

xxxx annika xxxxx: haha

dumbtp: what about a blogger?

xxxx annika xxxxx: lol, never dated a blogger befo
xxxx annika xxxxx: that i know of

dumbtp: i dont blame you

xxxx annika xxxxx: haha, it would suck if i read about all my eccentricities on the web

dumbtp: im sure they would come across as charming
dumbtp: are you very eccentric in relationships?

xxxx annika xxxxx: im a freak

dumbtp: control freak?
dumbtp: clean freak?
dumbtp: attention whore?

xxxx annika xxxxx: no, i guess i’m pretty normal, but it seems that for years now, i haven’t been able to go more than four months in any relationship
xxxx annika xxxxx: it’s always four months and out
xxxx annika xxxxx: i don’t know, it must be a magic number or something, but i get bored

dumbtp: what month are you in now?

xxxx annika xxxxx: i just finished my four months

dumbtp: and?

xxxx annika xxxxx: so i’m looking
xxxx annika xxxxx: haha

dumbtp: get out!
dumbtp: ahahahaha

xxxx annika xxxxx: Yah, Matt took that interview when i just started dating that guy
xxxx annika xxxxx: but its over now

dumbtp: ohh, im so sorry!

xxxx annika xxxxx: no biggie, it was my decision

dumbtp: seriously do you think you were bored?

xxxx annika xxxxx: yah, i’m hard to please

dumbtp: how many of these 4 monthers have you dumped?

xxxx annika xxxxx: hmmm, um the last guy, mike
xxxx annika xxxxx: before that was jason
xxxx annika xxxxx: then peter
xxxx annika xxxxx: so im on three in a row

dumbtp: thats not so bad
dumbtp: at least you see the problem and get rid of it

xxxx annika xxxxx: haha, true

dumbtp: what did those dudes not understand?

xxxx annika xxxxx: you know, i can’t really blame them.
xxxx annika xxxxx: Mike just had no ambition or interest in anything outside his own little world
xxxx annika xxxxx: not that there’s anything inherently wrong with that, but it started to bug me
xxxx annika xxxxx: like one time i was talking about current events and he said, “sorry, I guess I’m just not a news buff.”

dumbtp: ahahaha

xxxx annika xxxxx: but then i sometimes get carried away
xxxx annika xxxxx: still, what’s a news buff? Following the news is like breathing, not something i even think about doing, it’s so natural

dumbtp: so being buff isnt enough, now you want a buff news buff?

xxxx annika xxxxx: buff is good

xxxx annika xxxxx: Hey Jeff Gordon just won the Daytona 500

dumbtp: didnt he cheat on his wife?

xxxx annika xxxxx: i dont know, i dont follow racing, but my bro does

dumbtp: i was watching stefanapolis

xxxx annika xxxxx: George Stepopotamus, as i call him

dumbtp: i was waiting for him to talk about jeff gannon

xxxx annika xxxxx: for no particular reason

dumbtp: whats your take on that?

xxxx annika xxxxx: Well, i always liked Gannon, especially a few years ago,
xxxx annika xxxxx: but was very disappointed in his superbowl performance, and then he got injured

xxxx annika xxxxx: and now hes over the hill

dumbtp: so sad

xxxx annika xxxxx: seriously, when i heard the story about jeff gannon, thought they were talking about Rich
xxxx annika xxxxx: i was very confused

dumbtp: its hard for me to seperate the two as well

xxxx annika xxxxx: What’s the story anyway, Bush gave him press credentials so he could plant questions in the news conferences? is that it?

dumbtp: lets hope thats it
dumbtp: some say he was there because his boyfriend is the press sec
dumbtp: or that he blackmailed himself in there

xxxx annika xxxxx: What’s this about him being a male prostitute?

dumbtp: escort
dumbtp: $200/hr
dumbtp: or $1200 a weekend
dumbtp: which seems like a bargain

xxxx annika xxxxx: REeeealllyyy?
xxxx annika xxxxx: i never heard that.

dumbtp: how else can you get past the secret service?
dumbtp: and why would you have to pay a dude for something that half the press do for free?

xxxx annika xxxxx: Jack Bauer did it easily in season one

dumbtp: jack bauer is hotter

xxxx annika xxxxx: haha

xxxx annika xxxxx: Well, you know, who was that blogger that was fucking half of Washington

xxxx annika xxxxx: oh, duh, the washingtonienne

dumbtp: washingtonne, only fucked a quarter of dc

xxxx annika xxxxx: Sounds like there’s a lot of sex going on in that town

dumbtp: then why wont they let the rest of us get any?

xxxx annika xxxxx: Hey what’s your take on Wonkette, if i may ask

dumbtp: i think shes great
dumbtp: i wrote her two fan emails
dumbtp: she answered the first one
dumbtp: then she got super famous

xxxx annika xxxxx: i saw her on Charlie Rose, and Andrew Sullivan was rude to her

dumbtp: i missed that one!

xxxx annika xxxxx: he wouldn’t let her speak

dumbtp: i hate catfights

xxxx annika xxxxx: lol
xxxx annika xxxxx: but she had this bang thing going, where it kept falling over one eye

dumbtp: so hot

xxxx annika xxxxx: and she kept brushing it back
xxxx annika xxxxx: the guys i was watching it with were very turned on by her

dumbtp: why she isnt superdooper famous is beyond me
dumbtp: how come she and washingtonniette arent doing a sunday morning show on mtv?

xxxx annika xxxxx: that would be hott

tune in next time when we talk a little bit about iraq, basketball, and charles bukowski

danielle + leah + my old boss is in paris hilton’s phone book

friday night on hbo.

he said he couldnt get over the fact that the white house has ties

to gay male prostitution.

“i think i know what bush meant now when he said he had a mandate.”

robin williams simply could not be reigned in but what do you expect. but when he did hush for just a sec senator joe biden threw this into the mix

“Why isn’t every major network in the country investigating a security breach, forget anything else. How could the FBI, for 17 years I was chairman of the Judiciary Committee, the ranking member. I’ve read more FBI reports than I ever wanted to know. How could that happen and no one had any idea who this guy was?… The Judiciary Committee of the United States Senate should be investigating it. The House Judiciary should be investigating it. And if it were the other party in charge, it would be investigated.”

– via americablog

and i have a terrible memory but i forget if maher had “new rules” this week but i have a new rule.

new rule, you can wear a cross or you can dress like a whore, but no wearing a cross while youre dressed like a whore.

my mind can tolerate lots of concepts but virgin whore is not one that sits right.

i love christina aguelera more than i probably should.

i think its fascinating that we are far more obsessed with britney than we are in xtina even though britney cant sing cant dance isnt as hot and does nothing interesting with her look.

meanwhile christina sings her ass off does everything in the book to get our attention even touring with justin timberlake and janet jackson trumped her on that him as well.

word is she didnt even fuck em.

maybe she is a virgin whore

after all.

still, rockers, porn stars, hotties who come by in the wee hours, im not interested in seeing the symbol of my spiritual life resting between your exposed breasts.

or fishnetted breasts

leave it in the voting booth where it belongs.

bored housewife + inhale + zhi yang + put ian on survivor

by mikeboon.com

Q: In the small world of Toronto blogging, your site is one of the more popular destinations. What’s the secret to your success?
A: lots of photos, being around for awhile and being consistent, not holding back and or being predictible. in the beginning it was all photos of my face and my body and nudity and getting people interested at looking at me like a poor man’s celebrity but after awhile you realise that having a blog with 95 per cent of the photos of you leaning against a wall is boring and overdoing it. my writing is manic and to the point so that holds well with the ADD crowd. i guess i am kind of cynical and funny and cheesy. these aren’t really success tips or secrets it’s just what i’ve been doing, what i do.

Q: Better Living Centre, a new Toronto blog, has twice now featured your replies to Rebecca Eckler’s Advice to the Lovelorn questions. “Dear Raymi” seems to be a hit, any plans to make this a regular feature?
A: ask them. i have no problem in doing it on a regular basis.

Q: Where do you see yourself in five years? Will you still be blogging?
A: i will still be blogging and i will probably be saying I STARTED BLOGGING TEN YEARS AGO to shitbag kids and their mothers. hopefully i won’t be old or fat looking.

Q: It seems you’ve developed an interesting relationship with fellow blogger and Canadian rock star Matthew Good. Give us the straight up goods (pun totally intended) on him. Dude or dud?
A: definitely a dude and hates on people who are only interested in really expensive clothes and has an angry-schtick which i find amusing and he knows a lot about technology unlike other musicians so that’s brownie point right there.

Q: Has Matt asked you to guest on his next album? Your bio suggests you have musical roots.
A: no are u retarded?

entire interview is here

and now for an excerpt from the latest “Dear Raymi”

Dear Raaaaaaymi,

I have been dating for years and years. If there is one thing I’ve learned it’s that the men I’m attracted to are wrong for me. I’ve met a few of those “really nice guys” every girl professes they want, but I’m never attracted to them. I know many women are attracted to the bad boy. I would like to change. I would like to fall in love with one of those “nice guys,” except I am never attracted to them. How do I do this? – Need a Change

Dear you are boring,

i am so tired of people saying that nice guys finish last crap and women being attracted to “bad boys”. do you think men sit around going man i wish i could only fall for a nice girl but i just can’t so i have to go for a bitch, why me, wah wah, shut up. so you seem like one of those nice girl types but if you got with a nice guy type you would both be boring and wear sandals together and make friendship bracelets. so what. going for the bad guy is a cop-out and essentially means you are relying on this dude to be the interesting one so you can wow all your stupid bitch friends over lunch about how wild he is meanwhile he is secretly banging all of them and they aren’t even telling you so you know what, date the nice guy and save yourself the heartache.

raymi + raymi’s store + raymi’s blogshares

as sung by nina gordon
of veruca salt
mp3

Straight outta Compton crazy motherfucker named Ice Cube
From the gang called Niggaz With Attitudes
When I’m called off I got a sawed off
Squeeze the trigger and bodies are hauled off
You too boy if ya fuck with me
The police are gonna hafta come and get me
Off yo ass that’s how I’m goin out
For the punk motherfuckers that’s showin out
Niggaz start to mumble, they wanna rumble
Mix em and cook em up in a pot like gumbo
Goin off on a motherfucker like that
with a gat that’s pointed at yo ass
So give it up smooth
Ain’t no tellin when I’m down for a jack move
Here’s a murder rap to keep yo dancin
with a crime record like Charles Manson
AK-47 is the tool
Don’t make me act the motherfuckin fool
Maybe you can go toe to toe, no maybe
I’m knockin niggaz out tha box, daily
weekly, yo monthly and yearly
until them dumb motherfuckers see clearly
that I’m down with the capital C-P-T
Boy you can’t fuck with me
So when I’m in your neighborhood, you better duck
Cuz Ice Cube is crazy as fuck
As I leave, believe I’m stompin
but when I come back, boy,
I’m comin straight outta Compton

via stereogum + forexblog + nina gordon

tonight, 2/18
linkin park w/ jay-z + no doubt + blink-182 + camp freddy & others, pond of anaheim
interpol, grand olympic
sugarcult, house of blues
neville brothers, cerritos center
three bad jacks, key club
ashlee simpson, universal

tommorow 2/19
queensryche – Operation: Mindcrime in entirety, universal
mates of state + smoosh, knitting factory
TSAR, rain, costa mesa
ted leo & the pharmacists, el rey
polyphonic spree, henry fonda
jimmy cliff, long beach arena
camper van beethoven, house of blues
gen. public, malibu inn
uptown lights (greg dulli), spaceland

sunday 2/20
ted leo & the pharmacists, el rey
steel pulse, long beach arena
naked trucker and t-bone, troubador

monday 2/21
cat power, knitting factory
secret machines, avalon
chingy and warren g, house of blues
matt costa, echo

tuesday 2/22
Paul Westerberg, henry fonda
mission of burma, troubador
ben lee, viper room
fuck bunny, the joint
lou barlow + matt costa, silverlake lounge
thievery corp., the vanguard

wednesday 2/23
Paul Westerberg, henry fonda
michael penn, largo

thursday 2/24
beck + catpower, henry fonda
steve poltz, cerritos center
john doe, largo
becky, roxy
.38 special, vault 350

paul’s page + jack bog + jennifer

was a fella named ev who sold his three and a half year old company, Blogger, to Google and got to announce it live from the blogoshpere in a packed crowd of hipsters and nerds in an overflow event on a sidestreet in Chinatown.

wanna know how cool ev is?

motherfucker’s sitting three chairs over from me, theres hundreds of people looking at him, but they are slightly distracted by another member of the panel who’s discussing the world of blogging. the attention comes back to Ev and he says, “oh, can someone put my blog on the screen again please, im sorry.”

fucker had gotten a call on his cellphone, but, being the gentleman didn’t answer it. instead, he checked his email via the wireless network that was in the building, updated his blog live and linked to the silconvalley.com column that broke the story that Google was buying Pyra Labs, the San Fransisco company behind Blogger.

and then he told us.

everyone cheered, as Ev was answering what was announced to be the last question of the two hour discussion that included Doc Searls, Heather from the Rabbit blog, Boing Boing’s founder Mark Frauenfelder, the Reverse Cowgirl Susannah Breslin, and yours truly who didn’t say fuck even once.

that’s the only reason that i can figure that the los angeles times reporter who was assigned to cover the Live from the Blogoshpere story chose to interview me directly after the incredibly wonderful event, instead of talking to the only person in the house who has suddenly become a millionaire and a validated success right before our eyes.

while wearing a blogger tshirt.

while looking reportedly so cute that my ex, chris, and my laywer giggled the whole night and snapped picture after picture of him and blushed and covered their mouths with their hands.

It was the coolest culmination and synchronicity, wirelessness, and instantaneous publishing.
– evan williams2/16/03 1:28pm

why is that quote on the busblog and not in today’s sunday la times? and why isn’t it on latimes.com?

la times got to read Dan Gilmore’s scoop before it even went to press! they were in the house! the story was there. the founder of the company was there. lots of other sources were there too. i would imagine that the la times had a camera and were taking pictures of the event, including when the founder made his grand announcement on this, his first trip to Los Angeles.

“see what happens when you come to LA,” i shouted in the microphone a few seconds after he broke the news to us all.

if you want to know why Google bought Blogger look no further than this very story.

Dan Gilmore published his scoop at 7:41pm on his blog, Ev linked to it on his blog at 9:10pm, metafilter published the link to Gilmore’s story at 10:08pm, followed by Ken Layne, and then Azeem Azhar, Rick Bruner, Henry Copeland, Anil Dash, Nick Denton, Jeff Jarvis, Shelley Powers, Mitch Ratcliffe, Emmanuelle Richard, Matt Webb, Slashdot, and even Chinese bloggers.

Still, because no major news source other than the SJ Mercury (who Gilmore writes for) has published the story, Google’s (beta) News page only ranks it as the number 2 result, even though it’s own data says that the Merc’s story is fresher than the link that is getting the #1 return.

The value of Blogger to Google is, if Google had a faster access to blogs, it would have seen all the activity (above) pointing to Gilmore’s blog, and to the Merc article, and to Ev’s page and would have basically figured out that it’s news.

Right now, even though the humans running it know that it’s news, their own computers don’t even know that it is happening.

So what’s the LA Times’ excuse?

They were there.

And so was MC Brown who takes wonderful pictures, except when theyre of me.

Thanks to Michael August Pusateri who took a great picture of me (above, speaking on the panel) feeling on top of the world, stoked to finally meet so many people who i admire and who’s blogs i read.

Thanks to everyone who were nice enough to come up and said hi to me, thanks to the nice ladies who invited me to speak with such excellent and smart adults, and thanks for my pals for eating slippery shrimp before and getting drunk with me after.

It was a night i wont soon forget.

Doc Searls

so lets just get it all out.

the morning was so good that after i took my shower and i put on my ipod on the way to the bus i stood in my kitchen and said a little prayer up to the Lord to give thanks for having a great life and a great apartment and a cool job and an amazingly nice new girlfriend and the opportunity to talk to dozens of people via the internet.

and then i got to work and before my ass could hit my chair everything turned to shit.

first i got a very serious call from my sister telling me that my mom was in the hospital and she was nervous and she wanted to talk to her son. so i told her everything was going to be ok. she said, but ive never had an operation before. i said what are you in there for. she said gallstones. i said you could get your gallbladder yanked standing on your head. she was drowsy from the morophine and told me that her real fear was in the dope that was dripping into her veins.

i said, enjoy the drugs. there are people searching around cities all over the world for what your health insurance is paying to get pumped into your bloodstream. take a deep breath, close yr eyes, and dream beautiful dreams, and when you wake up thank God that we’re not living in a time where we actually have anesthesia and some semblance of medicine.

then i had to save the world.

which was hard cuz it was raining.

then i hung out with my girlfriend for about three minutes but i had to get back to work and this is what i have to say about that: shes a virgin, and she might never give it up to me ever, but shes so fucking hot and so sweet it’s nice just being able to kiss her cheek once in a while.

we walked to the corner and got an la weekly and basked in the coolness of having an article in there and then parted ways.

then she went to the interpol concert with her pals and i went home alone in the rain but i danced all the way home cuz she textpaged me a special little message.

and when i got home i had this in my in-box:

TO: TONY
FROM: ROCK BAND TSAR

SUBJ: TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!

IT’S WITH PROFOUND JOY AND EXCITEMENT THAT THE TSAR ORGANIZATION ANNOUNCES TSAR’S SIGNING WITH NEW YORK LABEL TVT RECORDS! TSAR WILL JOIN LIL’ JOHN AND SEVENDUST ON THE NATION’S PREMIER INDIE LABEL, SO RIGHT ON EVERYBODY!!

TVT WILL RELEASE TSAR’S NEW RECORD, BAND-GIRLS-MONEY THIS SUMMER!

IN CELEBRATION, TSAR WILL BE PERFORMING SEVERAL SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SHOWS OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS (THE BIG ONE WILL BE ON FEB 25th AT THE FOLD @ EL CID IN SILVERLAKE, CA) AND THEN TAKING THE SHOW ON THE ROAD OUT TO PLAY SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST AND CONTINUING ON TO NEW YORK CITY!! DATES FOR THIS TOUR WILL BE POSTED IN THE NEXT WEEK! ALL RIGHT!!

OK, HERE’S THE SO CAL DATES:

SAT FEB 19
RAIN
1700 PLACENTIA AVE.
COSTA MESA, CA
9 PM

THE BIG SHOW!!
FRI FEB 25
THE FOLD @ EL CID
4212 SUNSET BLVD
SILVERLAKE, CA
10 PM

FRI MAR 4
SPACELAND
1717 SILVERLAKE BLVD
SILVERLAKE, CA
9 PM
with OK GO

FRI MAR 11
THE SCENE
806 E. COLORADO ST.
GLENDALE, CA
10:30 PM

THEN TSAR LEAVES THE NEXT DAY FOR VEGAS, PHOENIX, ETC., AND VERY POSSIBLY YOUR TOWN! CONGRATULATIONS, GUYS! AND TO EVERYBODY OUT THERE ON PLANET TSAR: ROCK ON!!

FONDLY,
THE TSAR ORGANIZATION

an edited version of “how to blog” the post (which i love) + matthew good’s blog returns + canseco is a liar? + how am i in that company? + jerry brown has a blog

appointed john negroponte as director of national intelligence, the man who 15 spy agencies (like the CIA) will have to report to.

less than an hour after the announcement, media matters reports, Fox News Live anchor Brigette Quinn said, “I really haven’t heard anything negative about John Negroponte for the hour that I’ve been sitting here.” to which Morty Zuckerman, EIC of U.S. News & World Report said, “Well, I doubt if you will.”

apparently both of these geniuses keep their heads in the sand and don’t wish to bother themselves too much with history, newspapers, or the web.

Think Progress: Who is John Negroponte?

You may remember him best as one of the key figures in the Iran-Contra scandal during the Reagan administration. John Negroponte was the ambassador to Honduras from 1981 to 1985. While there, he directed the secret arming of the Contra rebels in Nicaragua to help them overthrow the Sandinista government.

At the time, he also was “cozy” with the chief of the Honduran national police force, Gen. Gustavo Alvarez Martinez. Martinez ran the infamous Battalion 316 death squad. Battalion 316 “kidnapped, tortured and murdered” dozens of people while Negroponte was ambassador. Negroponte, however, turned a blind eye to the death squad and ignored the gross human rights abuses so Honduras would allow bases for U.S.-backed Contras.

Negroponte maintained he knew nothing about them, leading to his nickname, “the ostrich ambassador.” The abuses, however, were widely chronicled in local papers. That means he either willfully ignored the mass murders and torturing of citizens or he was so out of touch that he didn’t see the atrocities going on beneath his very nose. Neither of these scenarios is what the United States needs in a National Director of Intelligence.

May I Speak Freely? – John Negroponte: A Tradition of Deceit

Critics say Negroponte is the wrong person for the job in Iraq. He doesn’t speak Arabic and or have a background in Middle East or Islamic countries, but he does have a history of turning a blind eye to allegations of serious human rights abuses. And in light of the Iraq prison abuse scandal, many are concerned about the message the Bush administration is sending — to enemies and allies alike — by installing Negroponte in this position, where he will oversee one of the largest U.S. embassies and possibly the largest CIA station in the world. If U.S.-sanctioned abuses in Iraq continue, will Negroponte attempt to suppress that information for fear of creating “an unwarranted human rights problem,” as he did in Honduras?

During the recent nomination hearing, Sen. Harkin said: “We need someone in Iraq who has a sterling record, an unassailable record in terms of his or her support for fundamental human rights and for the rule of law, someone who has no blot on their career record of having been involved in the kind of abuses that have come to light recently in Iraq under our military jurisdiction. After the terrible revelations of the abuses under our watch at the prison at Abu Ghraib … I believe nominating Ambassador Negroponte to this vital post would send entirely the wrong message.”

Wikipedia: John Dimitri Negroponte

Negroponte supervised the construction of the El Aguacate air base where Nicaraguan Contras were trained by the US, and which some critics say was used as a secret detention and torture center during the 1980s. Allegedly, in August 2001, excavations at the base discovered 185 corpses, including two Americans, who are thought to have been killed and buried at the site.

Records also suggest that a special intelligence unit (commonly referred to as a “death squad”) of the Honduran armed forces, Battalion 3-16, possibly trained by the CIA and the Argentine military, may have kidnapped, tortured and killed hundreds of people, allegedly including US missionaries. Critics charge that Negroponte knew about these human rights violations and yet continued to collaborate with the Honduran military while lying to Congress.

In May 1982, a nun, Sister Laetitia Bordes, who had worked for ten years in El Salvador, went on a fact-finding delegation to Honduras to investigate the whereabouts of thirty Salvadoran nuns and women of faith who fled to Honduras in 1981 after Archbishop Óscar Romero’s assassination. Negroponte claimed the embassy knew nothing. However, in a 1996 interview with the Baltimore Sun, Negroponte’s predecessor, Jack Binns, said that a group of Salvadorans, among whom were the women Bordes had been looking for, were captured on April 22, 1981, and savagely tortured by the DNI, the Honduran Secret Police, and then later thrown out of helicopters alive. It is unclear when or how Mr. Binns received this information and when it was known at the embassy.

and of course theres more that brigette and mortie is ignoring, perhaps they should read a little before they get on tv and pretend that everythings cool with this fool.

the case against john negroponte + anti + my lovely wife moxie

during my four years of college at uc santa barbara, whenever one of our friends would head down to LA it would be a requirement that they came back with several copies of the Weekly so we could see what shows were happening, what movies were showing and what interviews they had done with famous and not-so-famous rock stars and movie stars.

it is mindblowing to me that today my interview with paul westerberg has been printed.

i couldnt have done it without the help and support of ms rockblogger kate sullivan to whom i am forever indebted. (she is also responsible for the awesome headline.)

heres some more of the interview that didnt make it into the paper:

q. You seem kind of reluctant to do tours nowadays. Is that because you’re a devoted father and husband?

a. Certainly not a husband as much as a dad. She’s fine if I go away for a few weeks, sometimes it’s probably better that I’m not there. But, yeah, it’s hard to leave my little 6 year-old. I tried to set this all up so I could do a lot of my traveling before summer vacation so I could be around to play baseball with him and stuff. And also it’s the way I’ve been making records out of my home and releasing them, it’s a different ballgame. It isn’t like a major label where you have a single and we have to go promote the single and play at every award show and all of that kind of crud.

I can tour if I want or not tour if I don’t want. After we played three show in Minneapolis with these guys I said, “this is the band that I want to take out on the road.”

q. People were speculating who this band was, and one of the guys speculating said that this was a MN cover band. Is that the group that you hooked up with?

a. Oh I wouldn’t say that at all, no. Michael Bland, Prince’s old drummer on drums, and Jim Boquist from Son Volt is playing, and my old friend Kevin Bowe is a songwriter and is more of a producer and he gets a chance to be a lead guitar player and step out and do all the things that he’s always done in his bedroom.

No, this is a very nice mix of guys.

q. So definitely not a cover band.

a. These guys know my songs better than they know other songs, so I would be the one who would prefer to play covers. (laughs)

q. there seems to be a nice mix of songs that you play in concert of new tunes with your older ones. Is that intentional for the fans, or do they all kinda seem the same to you since they’re all songs that you wrote?

a. It varies a little from night to night, but I’ve never been one to play my new stuff specifically and then just tag on the oldies. Also I’m never quite sure what the audience will want to hear. If I don’t play “I Will Dare” people will say “why didn’t you play ‘I Will Dare'”. And if I do sometimes I feel that they’re bored with it. I played a couple of songs in November, a couple of brand new songs that I had just written, a couple of left field choices that the other guys were sorta stumped on. And there’s basically a handful of ten or so that I usually play most of the time. But then, we’ve got two nights. So that makes for all the more of the variety.

q. so if you don’t hear your favorite tune on the first night, then you have to come on the second night.

a. And you won’t hear it again.

q. I saw a picture of you with Keith Richards who has got to be a big hero of yours. Did you guys have a chance to sit down and talk?

a. Yeah we met about three times and that was the time we were doing a television show… no that was his birthday. Funny thing is that was his 45th birthday, I was 28, and now that I’m 45 I’m trying to get a picture of me and someone who’s 28 and compare them. Or take one of me and Keith now.

No, that was very– I just snuck backstage through the security guard and took a Polaroid of us. I wasn’t scared of him. He gave me the look like he was going to kill me but he knew I was safe.

q. Speaking of younger guys, are singers and younger bands coming to you for songs?

a. Not as of late. I’m always convinced that someday someone will take one of my songs and do them and maybe there will be a whole back catalogue that will come to life via someone else. I know Lucinda Williams is going to do a few of my new unreleased songs that I’ve written. And I’ve got tunes in Cameron Crowe’s movie (“Elizabethtown”), a score in this other movie (the animated film “Open Season”) where I’ve got songs and the score, so it’s like I’m definitely writing and it’s getting out there. I don’t know the next time I’m going to put my own album out but…

q. So these last couple years where you’ve been knocking out two albums a year are going to die down a bit?
a. I think so. For now. I’m going to concentrate on touring and then after touring finishing up the scoring. Then I don’t know quite what to do.

q. The Pixies reunion seemed pretty successful. Did that spark any interest in you guys getting back together?

a. There’s always bands getting back together whether they were popular or not. There was a time when the Pixies drew 60,000 in Europe. We were never at that level. We always had a solid underground level. But it was never beyond 6,000 people or so.

q. I hear ya, but they got to headline Coachella out here. I would imagine that you guys would probably have that kind of support too.

a. It’s tempting but everything that comes along with it would be like… we would have to rehearse.

q. (laughs) We don’t care if you rehearse.

a. Well we did before. But I think there’s a couple guys who are hesitant and I’m right in the middle and Tommy I don’t know if he’s in Guns N Roses still or able to go out and play in other groups or what.

q. Did you get a chance to read the Bob Dylan book?

a. Yes, “Chronicles”.

q. What’s your take on it?

a. I thought it was spectacular and in the very end I was not even sure that he was telling the truth. Pure Dylan, it was like he’s coming clean, he’s saying all the right things, champions Jack Elliot and everything, but in the end, you know, he could be lying. And that’s the crazy, legendary guy that he’s created. But I thought it was very interesting. And the fact that it was volume one that kind of jumped from ’62 to’87 and skipped “Blood On The Tracks” We could have 10 volumes before he’s done.

q. did it make you consider putting down your stories too?

a. No. No. Mine are less spectacular. Cuz ours are– I would hate to be a half-assed musician that has to do it for the money. I think one day when I’m old and gray and it’s all said and done and a number of people are gone, I could. But there’s still sort of life in the band.

They’re going to release the best of my (solo) stuff, and of the Replacements, and the box set. I don’t know what will become of that.

q. Aren’t you going to get bored of everyone asking, “Is the band ever going to get back together?” Does that make you anxious about the greatest hits and the reissues or do you look to the future with happy feelings?

a. I feel good. We all saw Paul McCartney at the Super Bowl. And it’s like, yeah, wouldn’t it have been great with John with him. The more the years pass the more I realize Bob (Stinson)’s great contribution to the early band, and then Slim was sort of Mach II, and then we ended up with a different drummer, so, as an easy way out it’s easy to say “the lead guitar player’s dead”.. and it changed Tommy and I forever. It changed our relationship and we’ve never been quite the same since. So that’s a little bit of a touchier a situation there.

q. Twin/Tone has video of a concert of you guys from 81 on their web site. Have you had a chance to see that?

a. No. Is that the one where my hair looks like Frankenstein?

q. No, this is the one where you guys look sober. Was that just a happenstance?

a. We could drink, for one. And for two, when we were young we took substances to spruce us up, as they say. Was it indoors or outdoors?

q. I think it was at First Ave.
a. I know that one. That was filmed with Husker Du. The real footage, the first footage of us playing outdoors in front of Kaufman Union at the University of Minnesota in 1980, I believe. That’s the coveted stuff. That was the stuff we tried to throw in the river. (Laughs) Maybe we did.

q. A lot of people say you’ve mellowed out over the years, but going back to your catalogue even from the first album with “Nowhere Is My Home” and “If Only You Were Lonely”; “Within Your Reach”, “Kiss Me On The Bus”, “Sixteen Blue” all those songs, those were all songs that could have been on “Folker”. So have you always been kinda melancholy at heart?

a. Sure, and I’ve always been able to bellow out screeching rock n roll. Like, I can’t think of the examples, there were some, “Pine Box”, stuff like that that was on the Grampaboy record or my record recently rocks about as hard as anything. I do go from a whisper to a shout and I’ve always enjoyed both styles. Give me Jackson Browne and gimme the Ramones. I’m a lover of both. I guess that’s what’s kept me out of the mainstream forever.

q. Now that you wont be knocking out two records a year, your old buddy Bob Mould has a pretty popular rock blog on the web, have you ever been interested of having a public journal of your thoughts or anything like that?

a. No. Obviously I don’t even own a cell phone because I (accidentally) hung up on you. I’m a man of wood and dirt. I don’t go online. I don’t want to know what they say. I don’t like the fact that the instant — what we play Monday night is instantly available and so they know on Tuesday night. It puts more pressure to pull something off the cuff or out of the blue. But we’re going to try.

q. Recently you were on Jim Rome’s sports talk show. Do you listen to his show an awful lot?

a. I was tricked into it.

q. Were you?

a. It was like, “This guy’s gonna call you up. Talk to him for a little bit.” So it’s like “sure, whatever.”

q. So you weren’t a fan of the show?

a. I never heard it.

q. What other big famous stars have called you their favorite rock star like he did?

a. Nobody terribly cool as far as I know.

q. So you don’t expect all of Hollywood to come out to the shows then?

a. ahhh, no I don’t. (Laughs) It’s probably the night of the Grammys for all I know.

q. Are you using an iPod to listen to your music nowadays?

a. No. No. I still like to pull out 45s and put them on the mono record player in the basement. I love the past and I love what it is. I feel I can learn more from what has come before than what is happening right now and what’s happening tomorrow. I’ll leave that to someone else who’s young and energetic.

Somebody gave me a blues compilation, a DVD from England, ’62-’69. It’s got Little Walker and Skip James and stuff and it’s I really enjoy watching that kind of stuff. I enjoy watching the Rolling Stones from that era too. I’m not a modern guy.

q. And you’re definitely a Minnesotan. Are there any spots you’re gonna wanna hang out at? Do you have any favorite LA spots?

a. No. I go from the bathroom to the living room to the headphones to the telephone. I never go anywhere. There was a time I walked over to the Pink Dot to buy something, a candy bar. No. I’m not a go-seer of stuff.

q. Is that another reason why you’re not going crazy about touring?

a. You make it so– The first gig is the 17th in Vancouver and I’m flying in on the 17th, that afternoon. If the flight is delayed or something then whoops. I’ll get there at 8pm, and get right to the gig, put on my shirt and kick it out.

I just talked to Michael and we’re trying to think of a good song for Prince to play on. I was thinking shit, what’s got a long, wiggy guitar solo on it? We’re stumped for now, but… We’ll think of something.

q. Is he going to be out here?
a. I don’t know. Michael’s put in an appearance with him, and we’ve crossed paths, but… who knows who’ll show up.

q. Well, do a Prince song. You’re always good for covers.

la weekly + kate sullivan + sk smiff